Navigation systems are available that provide end users with various navigation-related functions and features. For example, some navigation systems are able to determine an optimum route to travel along a road network from an origin location to a destination location in a geographic region. Using input from the end user, the navigation system can examine various potential routes between the origin and destination locations to determine the optimum route. The navigation system may then provide the end user with information about the optimum route in the form of guidance that identifies the maneuvers required to be taken by the end user to travel from the origin to the destination location. Some navigation systems are able to show detailed maps on displays outlining the route, the types of maneuvers to be taken at various locations along the route, locations of certain types of features, and so on.
In order to provide these and other navigation-related functions and features, navigation systems use geographic data. The geographic data may be in the form of one or more geographic databases that include data representing physical features in the geographic region. The geographic database includes information about the represented geographic features, such as one-way streets, position of the roads, speed limits along portions of roads, address ranges along the road portions, turn restrictions at intersections of roads, direction restrictions, such as one-way streets, and so on. Additionally, the geographic data may include points of interests, such as businesses, facilities, restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, stadiums, police stations, landmarks, and so on.
A landmark may be an entity having a physical presence (e.g., a building, a sign, a sculpture, an entity that is perceptible through vision, touch, or sound) that the user will encounter while traveling a route dictated by the directions. In one implementation, a landmark is a branded reference point that designates a place of business or the location of at least one business, commercial signage, or an advertisement. In one implementation, symbols or marks (e.g., trademarks) representing landmarks can be included in the map view and/or the directions view. In an aspect of this implementation, landmark symbols in the directions view may correspond to like symbols in the map view.
Driving directions can be helpful if in addition to spatial information, landmark or other contextual information is provided. Landmarks and other contextual information relating to the route assist in adding context to directions as well as allowing for a greater likelihood of success of an operator following directions. There can be employment of physical identification of landmarks as well as processing regarding the utility of a landmark in regards to driving directions. Driving directions can be highly useful if integrated landmarks relate to knowledge possessed by an operator of a vehicle. Landmark based driving direction can be integrated with advertisements that relate to the directions.
For example, although navigation systems provide many important features, there continues to be room for new features and improvements. One area in which there is room for improvement relates to providing guidance to follow a route. Typically, route guidance identifies maneuvers to be taken at specified locations, such as turn left at next intersection. Some end users may get confused as to their orientation and where to turn. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide improved guidance to follow a route. More particularly, it would be beneficial to consider details in the end user's environment and context to provide a more natural, environmental and intuitive guidance message and/or instructions based on contextual elements surrounding the road segment. Such enhanced guidance may be referred to as natural guidance, and natural guidance may be defined as a turn-by-turn experience encompassing multiple attributes and relations which details the user's environment and context, e.g. landmarks, to more natural, environmental and intuitive triggers. Guidance messages formed using natural guidance may provide details of contextual elements, such as landmarks, surrounding decision points such as points of interest, cartographic features and traffic signals and/or stop signs. An example of a guidance message using natural guidance is “go past the dome building on your right, then turn right after the petrol station.”
To allow the navigation system to provide natural guidance information, a geographic database developer collects information relating to the geographic features of the geographic region useful for providing guidance instructions that are more natural, provide additional environmental context and are more intuitive. For example, a geographic researcher may travel the geographic region to collect information relating to geographic features. As the geographic research travels the geographic region, images and/or video of the road network and the area surrounding the road are collected and stored on a storage medium. The geographic research collects information directly when traveling in the geographic region and/or collects information after traveling in the geographic region by later examining the video and images. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the geographic researcher may use aerial images to collect information
Generally, natural guidance based systems aim to act more like a human navigator, pointing out many more visual cues like recognizable buildings, traffic signals, landmarks, and the like that might help drivers respond more intuitively than the typical “turn in 300 meters” sort of instructions a typical navigation device usually provides.
For example, NAVTEQ Natural Guidance, manufactured by Nokia Corporation, located in Finland, improves upon linear navigation instructions—e.g. ‘turn right in 50 meters on Kurfuerstendamm—by guiding the way humans instruct each other, through descriptions of orientation points such as distinctive points of interest and landmarks—e.g. ‘turn right after the yellow shop” or ‘turn right at the traffic signal.’ Research shows consumers desire more intuitive and practical directions because it is easier to follow and allows the user to keep their eyes on the road. NAVTEQ Natural Guidance enables applications to use recognizable and easily understandable points of reference close to the decision point to highlight the next maneuver.